Forever Ten
by bekeyboo
Summary: A ten year-old girl is kidnapped from her home, bitten, and enslaved by the Volturi. But when her masters see she has a power far greater than others, they see her as suitable to go on a dangerous mission only she can complete. On hiatus.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey, guys! I know I said my Twilight fanfics would be few, far between, and unpublished. This story is F8tey (F8WUZL8)'s idea. It rocks, and she didn't really want to write it. BTW, this is just after the end of Breaking Dawn. The only thing F8 wrote was that prologue... So here is my complicated disclaimer: Twilight characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. The plotline belongs to Sun- F8WUZL8. Some powers for my characters came form other fanfictions- if you recognize it, don't throw a snit. MY WORDS, MY CHARACTERS. Yes, I do own something here. Anyhoo- enjoy. **

**Jane's POV**

In the evening light of a full moon, she sat near the pond, staring into the distance with a greed and hunger that no onlooker could accurately understand. She listened to the cricket's tune, the corner of her black robe dipping into the water, as she sifted her position to leaning on her arm.

It was peaceful times like this she wished she could sleep.

Caius had sent her out of his presence like she was the reason their attack had failed. But she knew he was only blaming her so he wouldn't have to blame himself. She'd never liked Caius.

"Are you okay?" Alec asked from behind her, truly worried for his twin. He had seen her expression when the girl blocked her attack. Jane's gift had never been deflected, ever. And when it was, she was afraid that her gift was failing her. He knew. And seconds after she had looked even more afraid, because the person she thought she was never showed fear. But he knew she just wasn't who she thought she was.

"Sure." Jane replied lightly, the tip of her shoe barely skimming the liquid's surface. Alec put a hand on her shoulder.

"You know it wasn't your fault. Caius, Aro, and Marcus weren't prepared for failure. That doesn't mean it's your fault." Alec always had comforting words; that Jane knew. It was just that they weren't always accurate. The Volturi weren't just "not prepared for failure". They had gotten their butts kicked by some amateur fighters, and had sulked home in the defeat they had never seen coming. And now, the actual coven was blaming the guard, and until those nimwitted brats in America were dead, it would stay that way.

Jane punched the ground in frustration, leaving a perfect outline of her small fist.

"Until we take control of that coven, nothing is going to change! We need a plan!" She yelled.

Alec bounced back at his sister's scream, and didn't want to mess with her. But he walked forward once again.

"I might have one." He spoke timidly.

A smirk played across his sister's lips as he eagerly verbalized the plan that would get rid of the Cullens once and for all.

…

"Aro, I have a proposal." Jane was back in the "throne room" again. She spoke to the elders confidently.

"Erm, you mean we have a proposal." Alec put in. His voice echoed across the walls in an awkward silence. Jane didn't look at him, but he believed she was frowning.

"Whatever." She dismissed the conflict. "Anyway, we have a proposal."

Shadows bounced off walls as Marcus shifted uncomfortably in his seat as Aro and Caius looked at each other knowingly, frowning. The room stayed silent. A cricket chirped.

Finally, Aro spoke, "You may present your proposal."

Jane nodded and took a step forward. "Aro, Marcus, Caius, I know full well we are being threatened by the Olympic coven. So I propose we come up with something extraordinary, to defeat them from the inside out. And I have an idea on how to do this."

Aro looked up at this, interested. This was quite a feat for Jane, after having failed him before; it was nice to know he didn't hate her.

"Exactly how young does a vampire have to be to be considered an immortal child?"

"Ahh…" Aro's eyes glinted with anticipation. This was a new game, and he liked it.

* * *

I raced home from my school, hair flying out behind me. Irritated, I stopped and tied it behind me again. After I was satisfied with my hair, I looked around for Connor, my little brother. He was in third grade, I in fifth. We were supposed to walk home together, but I didn't see him. Where was he? My friend Jane walked up to me. "Hello."

"Um, hi. What's up?" I asked her. "Oh yeah, have you seen Connor? He was here, like, five seconds ago."

She smiled slightly. "Your brother is with me. Come quietly or he will die. Promise." My eyes widened. I was terrified, not just for my own but for Connor's sake. I knew I couldn't run, slugs frequently passed me on my way home.

"Wha-" I started.

Jane's eyes flared. "Silently or he dies."

I had no idea how she got Connor. I loved him to death, so I shut up and followed Jane.

She led me through the streets I knew so well, to a dark alley. There, she threw me (with inhuman strength) in a covered, large dog crate. I heard fabric rustling, and then felt like she was carrying me. Terrified, but exhausted, I eventually drifted off to sleep.

A while later, Jane gently shook me awake. I was out of the crate- obviously, it was a disguise- and strapped in to an airplane sheet. "Where-" I began.

"On our private jet, going to Volterra, Italy. My brother is in the back of this jet. His name is Alec. He has your brother. About six other kids are on this plane. Now, the shut-up-or-I-will-kill-Connor rule still applies. So shut your mouth before I shut it for you." Jane snapped. I shut my mouth.

I stared out the window until touchdown.

At touchdown, we met up with two ripped guys- Felix and Demetri. They motioned quickly for us kids to stay quiet and in a line. I looked for Connor and saw him, but Jane gave me a look that basically said "Keep walking". They escorted the eight of us out of the airport and to a cave in the surrounding mountainside. Once there, Jane's terrifying red eyes turned to me. "This may hurt just a little." She said in her sweet voice. I cowered back, terrified. Her teeth tore my shoulder, and I knew no more. The pain was so much, I blacked out.

~insert line-thingy here~

When I woke, I was conscious of other presences in the area. My eyes were still shut, I couldn't see. I could hear no sounds of other people breathing. However, I was sure that they were there. I could… feel them. In my mind. I also felt like I was on a different level of consciousness- I could hear differently, smell differently, and feel differently. I concluded that when I opened my eyes, I would see differently too. What just happened?

I decided to open my eyes. I was in a small room, with seven people curled on the floor. Three were sitting on thrones. They were staring at me, and I got the impression that I should probably show some respect.

"Um, hello… sirs?" I said, quietly questioning how much respect I owed them. My voice was beautiful. I opened my eyes wide in shock.

The leader in the center smiled. "Rise, dear child." Warily, I rose to my feet.

"S-s-sir, sorry, but what am I?" I asked him. "And who are you, and who are they?" I gestured around the room. I caught sight of my arm. Enchanted, I brought it closer to my eyes to examine it. It was smooth as glass, white as marble. I turned it over, looking at the smooth valley of my wrist.

I was so entranced that when the man spoke, I was slightly shocked. "I am Aro. These are Caius and Marcus, my brothers-"

"Where's Connor?" I interrupted. "Sorry… Aro."

Aro smiled. "It's quire all right, dear. I promise Connor is well. I will get there, I promise. Let me continue." He paused, and I nodded. "Very well. You are a vampire. Extremely strong, agile, fast, and beautiful. You are immortal. Your only weakness is fire. Now, let me wait for more of you to wake up to explain more. You, my child, can sit with Jane and Alec. Jane, my darling, can you fetch Laurie a mirror?" Aro directed his last question at Jane, who brought us here.

Vaguely, I stared at Aro. A vampire? I was a vampire? But… vampires don't exist!

She smiled angelically. "Yes, master." she said, and raced down the hall. In the blink of an eye she was back, holding an ancient, heavy, expensive-looking hand mirror. I was stunned by my reflection.

I was perfect. My brown and gold hair was thick and lush, in my old style of a short bob with soft curls. My face was symmetrical, with a full set of lips. My cheekbones were still distinct and high. My eyebrows were well-defined and shaped. I gasped when I saw my eyes. They were large and had long lashes, but what caught my attention was the color. Wild and blood red, they scared the daylights out of me.

"Whoa, rush!" A girl shrieked from the floor. She pulled herself up to full height. "Rush, epic rush! Whoa, who are you?" She shrieked at me, giggling. "I'm Anabel, Annie for short." She was smiling and giggling. She was maybe a year older than me, with crazy long blonde curls.

"Dear girl, come and sit with Laurie. Ana, this is Laurie." Aro said.

Two people woke up in about an hour, holding each other tightly. The girl had inch-long, jet-black hair and overly pale skin, paler than mine, even my new vampire skin. She had a slim, sharp nose and slim, sharp facial features. Her eyes were too big for her face, with long, dark lashes. Her eyes were crazy, like mine. The boy she was clutching had short, curly blonde hair. He looked strong and handsome. They were both about 14

"Jay?" The boy asked. "You look different… really pretty."

The girl looked at him. "Me, Ollie? You look different… but I like it! Hey, who the-" she swallowed her next word, "Are you all?"

The boy stood up, easily pulling the girl with him. "Ah! You have awoken. My name is Aro. Jade and Apollo, come and sit by my child Laurie and my dear Anabel." Aro said to the newcomers. I noted that every time he spoke about me, I was his child. Annie was 'dear'. Weird. I sort of remember having different parents, awhile back, but the memories were scarce and foggy, seen through weak eyes and a weak consciousness. I decided not to dwell on it. The only person I was worried about now was Connor, who was still shivering on the floor.

Another few hours later, a girl I noted before for her insanely red hair, suddenly sat up, opening her eyes. She looked, open-eyed, around the room. "Hello. My name is Juliet." The girl said, getting to her feet. She was petite, but probably around thirteen. Every little feature about her made her look like a little fairy, with long, straight red hair.

Aro smiled, that insane glint in his eye that I noticed appeared whenever anyone woke. "Ah! Love, come and sit by your brother and sisters- Laurie, Annie, Apollo, and Jade. I am Aro."

The girl was looking at him intently. Smiling, a truly beautiful sight, she said, "Sure." She sat next to Apollo on this long, wooden bench.

Not but a few minutes later, another girl woke. I barely noticed, as I was watching Connor. She seemed disoriented. Almost as a question, she said, "Hello?" Her eyes grew slightly less focused and she smiled. "Yes! I still have it!" she beamed at Aro. "You're probably tired of hearing this, but who the sam heck are you?" she asked him, drawing a cloak she was wearing tighter over her shoulders. The light in the room glinted off her wavy, solid brown hair. She seemed like a fairly average, though super-beautiful, farm girl, complete with accent.

"Dear one, I am Aro. Why not sit with your siblings- Laurie, Anabel, Apollo, Jade, and Juliet?" Aro asked.

She smiled at him. "My name is Rosie. I didn't know them before, that's why I didn't sit with them." She skipped over and sat beside me. She was about twelve years old.

About an hour later, a very familiar head opened its eyes. "CONNOR!" I shrieked, running over to him. I was disoriented for a minute on how fast I ran. I put his head in my lap.

"Laurie? What happened to your voice? Where am I? What just happened?" Connor asked me. I smoothed his short, brown hair.

"Connor, don't worry. He'll get there. That is Aro. They are Rosie, Anabel, Apollo, Jade, and Juliet (I am so sorry that I have to keep repeating these names.). I pulled him over and sat him on my lap.

The last guy woke up about five minutes after Connor did. He looked at us all contemptuously. "Hello, my son. Sit." Aro told him. We all introduced ourselves.

"Brian. Pleasure." The kid said with a British accent. He was like, nine, and he acted like he was better than us. Whatever. He sat next to Juliet.

Aro smiled at the eight of us. "Hello, my dear children. Welcome to your new lives in Volterra."

**Hey, peeps! This is the first chapter of Forever Ten! This chap is, indeed, kind of boring. But, I need everything set up so rockin' awesome fight scenes and exciting stuff can happen. Next chapter is probably more setup, and wayyyy longer. Chapter three is gonna be a bit more interesting… mua ha ha! Anyway…**

**This chapter has been Beta-ed to you by F8WUZL8 (aka Sun!)**

**Ciao!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey, my home skillets. Enjoy.**

Aro smiled. "Dears, I am Aro. These are my brothers, Caius and Marcus. These are my dear children, Jane and Alec. Felix and Demitri are behind them, with Heidi. You may leave now, my brothers, and my children." Caius, Marcus, Jane, Alec, Felix, Demitri, and Heidi left.

"Now, my dears, tell me a bit about yourselves, describe your personalities. What's your strongest trait?" Aro said, sitting on his ornately carved, gold and diamond throne. "Laurie?"

I stood, bowing my head to Aro. "My real name is Lauren, but I prefer Laurie. I lived on the East Coast of the U.S- Maine. I have a little brother- Connor. My strongest trait is my adaptive personality. I'm kinda manipulative with it… evil genius, you know?" I said, my perfectly softly curled brown and gold hair glinting in the sun from the skylight. It was kind of a weird way to present myself. Normally I don't go around saying "Hi! My strongest trait is…", normally it's more like, "Hi. My name is…" Ignoring this, however, I sat down.

Annie stood up. "Hi-hi! My real name is Anabel, but I have like, infinity nicknames- Ana, Annie, Bell, Bella… whatever!. I'm an only child. I was brought up in LA, like right next to the Hollywood sign. I've touched it. I am super controlling and stubborn… but I also laugh a lot and go crazy all the time." She seemed really tall now, her corkscrews glinting almost white in the filtered sunshine.

Jade almost stood, but Brian cut her off. "I am Brian. I have three younger sisters, back in England. I am honest, kind, generous, and handsome. I am nine years old." He sat down, his short and spiky black hair contrasting with his pale skin.

Apollo pulled Jade up next. "I'm Apollo. I'm fourteen. I lived with my mom back in Minnesota. Umm… you go, Jade. Yeah, this is my girlfriend Jade."

"Hi. Um, I'm Jade. Apollo and I have been going out for, like, two years. Um, I'm also fourteen, and lived with my parents in Minnesota. Apollo is really sweet, and warm, well, he used to be, and really nice, and adorable…" Jade trailed off, looking into Apollo's red eyes.

"Jade is really quiet, and mysterious, and giving and selfless…" Apollo also trailed off, his short blond curls catching the light while Jade's short, straight black spikes reflected it.

Rosie stood up, lean and lanky, with her brown waves tied back in a plait. "Hey, y'all. I lived on a farm with my parents, two brothers, and three sisters. We had cows, pigs, goats, and my cat, Lily. Um, I had this condition called synesthesia, where, in my case, I can see sounds… like a sound triggers a visual response that hovers before my eyes. It was kinda cool. And I still have it! But, like, sharper and more defined." Her eyes glinted with passion for her gift.

Juliet was pushed to her feet by Connor and Rosie, on either side of her. Her eyes widened in shyness fear. "I'm Juliet. Please don't call me Julie, I don't like that name. I was the younger of two kids- I had an older brother. I- I don't know what else to say. Everything else interesting is really personal and I don't want to go there right now." Her fine, thickly growing scarlet hair fell around her shoulders to her hips, almost catching on her butt when she sat down again.

I noted that Connor hadn't spoken yet. I pulled him to his feet. "Go on, sweetie." I told my little brother.

"Hi." He said, round cheeks opening. "My name is Connor. My big sister is Laurie. I lived in Maine. I wanta be a magician when I grow up. Bye," Connor said, sitting down. His brown and blond hair was falling in his eyes. I brushed it away. He did such a good job. "Thank you." Connor said.

I smiled. "You don't have to thank them just for listening, sweetheart."

His brow furrowed. "You said I did a good job." he told me.

"I only thought that, sweetie." I told him, admittedly a tiny bit freaked out.

"Oh," Connor said. "Oh. I can't read anyone else's mind, though. Maybe it's because we're siblings."

I nodded. "Yeah, shared blood. Fun times."

Aro clapped his hands. "How exciting! My child, can you see into Connor's mind?" I shrugged. "Try, my child." I tilted my head.

"Connor! Think louder!" Some of the older kids laughed, but it worked! _Gee, is this loud enough for you, Laurie?_

I smiled. "Got it!" _Thank you, sweetie. You did-_

_Don't sweetie me all the time._

_Sweetie._

GRR! After mentally annoying Connor, he lunged at me. Time slowed down in my mind. Instinctively, I drew on these little sparks of heat, inside my head, in exactly the same places the other people were. They told me to- or I felt like I should- throw my hands up.

Many different, painful things all happened simultaneously.

One, a random spurt of flame shot out of my upturned palm, straight toward the cold marble ceiling. The tongue of fire died halfway there.

Two, the air turned hazy with overlapping colors, shapes, sizes, and smells.

Three, all of the people in the room looked at me with wide, loving eyes for about a second.

Four, an explosion of thought wormed its way into my mind for a split-second. In that split-second, I had ten thousand ways to kill Connor, and understood them all.

Five, Connor froze in midair. Not moving, not falling, but still as a statue.

Six, I was violently split in half, one part darkness, one part light.

All of this was over in a second, but a second is a long time to me.

Jade's over-lined eyes widened. "What the hell- I mean, heck just happened?"

Everyone was staring at me. "I have no idea! Ok, that's a lie. I do. I, like, pulled on these little sparks in my mind and then I exploded." My chin crinkled, like I did when I was trying very hard not to cry. "It hurt."

In a millisecond, Aro had pulled me into a hug. "I'm sorry, my child." I sniffled a little bit then regained my composure. I was a little weirded out, I must say. I mean, I met this guy like an hour or so ago, and now he's hugging me? Weird much? I pulled away.

"So, Aro, in the immortal words of Jade, what the heck just happened?" I asked Aro.

He sat me down in a chair separate from the bench the rest sat at. It was at the other side of the hall, front and center in a row of eight. "You have found your talent, the thing you carried with you from your past life to here. Probably, as we no longer have dear Eleazar to check, you can use other vampires' powers as if they were your own. Fascinating. That means everything you did was caused by a special little person in this room." Aro's eyes had that terrifying and captivating glint in them I recognized from when he was listening to us tell him about ourselves.

"Now, my dears, I would like to find your special talents. Juliet, you first, love?" Aro said to the redhead, offering his hand like he was asking her to dance. Smiling slightly, she placed her hand in his as he led her to the open center of the room. He left her standing, alone and undefended, in the center of the ring.

He ran to the other side, and then pounced. Mid-pounce, he stopped, a weird look in his eye. "Your hair is… like… fire… so pretty…" Aro sounded dazed. He shook his head. "Ah! Love, you talent is obsessive love. You can make anyone fall in love with you to a fault." Juliet shook her head, and walked to the seat on my immediate left.

Aro smiled. "Anabel?" he asked, offering his hand the same way he did to Juliet. Annie ignored it, hopped up, and raced to where Juliet stood.

"Ready!" she screeched. Aro launched himself at her. Ana threw up her left hand. Aro froze, like Connor did. Annie grinned. "OMG this is so cool!" She twiddled her fingers. Aro convulsed in the air. She slammed her hand downward. Aro fell to the floor, cracking the marble. Concerned, Annie dropped the connection and ran to his side.

"My dear girl, come, sit, with your sisters," Aro said, gesturing to the chair on my immediate right.

I turned to Aro's voice. "Now, dear one, it is your turn." Rosie took his hand and was led to the same position as everyone else. When Aro attacked, she managed to use his own force to slam him to the floor. As he continued to attack innocent-looking Rosie, she pulled intelligent and complicated moves against him.

"Ah, truce, dear one! Let us call this match a draw. You must have some heightened mindpower," Aro said, bowing to Rosie. "You will have to do something with your hair, though." Grabbing Rosie's braid in one hand, he took a knife out of his pocket and sliced off her braid.

She gasped, "But that's my hair! It took years to grow it that long!" He gave her a stern, frightening look, and she smartly shut up. He then sent her on her way to sit next to Juliet.

Aro turned back to the bench. "Dear boy, Connor?" Aro asked. I motioned for Connor to follow Aro.

He found that his talent was illusions. Insanely realistic illusions.

After Aro calmed us after a really good-smelling human illusion, Connor was sent to sit next to me.

"Brian, my dear son?" Aro beckoned to Brian.

Another happy incident later, Brian was branded with a fire-creation skill. Scary stuff. Burning a vampire is the only way we die.

He sat beside Connor. I'm not really sure I was happy about that. That boy scared the heck out of me.

Aro smiled, and turned to the couple sitting, clutching each other, on the bench. "Apollo, I presume you will not allow dear Jade to fight on her own?" Apollo shook his head. "Well, both of you come on." Aro led them both to the arena.

Aro lunged at Jade. She disappeared. Aro lunged at Apollo, who was screeching "JADE!"

She reappeared in front of him and punched Aro in the gut. "Will yourself to dissipate, Apollo! It works!" Suddenly, they both disappeared. I saw a wisp of a shadow cross the usually sunny arena, and a beam of light in the shade. Jade reappeared on the chair in the back of the formation, and Apollo in the chair next to Rosie, who was sobbing over her cropped locks.

I sorted her out. I asked Aro for his knife. Her locks are now the same solid brown, but tied back in the shortest pony ever, with cropped lengths hanging around her face.

"Wonderful, wonderful!" Aro looked at all of us sitting on the bench together. "That will be all for today, my children. Now I assume you must be… thirsty.?"

As there came a thumping on the door, it all clicked in my head. I was a vampire.

The door opened and before I knew it I was sinking my teeth into human flesh.

**Hey, people who read this fanfiction! Another setup chapter, boring, I know. Hopefully, in an ideal situation, I will update every Tuesday, unless that's impossible then I'll update Monday or Wednesday. Also, Tech Week (Heck Week) for the show I'm in is right around the corner, so I have to options- lower quality but normal updating, or normal quality and possibly late updating. I opted for option two. **

**A note on synesthesia- It's real! Google it or something. In my opinion, it's just a thing I read about. My Beta, Sun (F8tey), however, thinks it's super awesome. So, like, talk to her about that. Also- I owe her a virtual hug *hug* and a virtual head explosion *bombs head*. Sorry, Sun!**

**Kay! Chapter three to be posted in about a week. Later!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys. I missed updating.**

I looked at the bodies on the floor. "Ew! Get them out of here!" I shrieked to Aro.

He glared at me. "Felix, Dimitri, Alec," he said, bored, "Dispose of the corpses."

Rosie was on the floor, looking at one of the bodies. "Rosie, get up. You are a god, they are your prey. Now, all of you, go away." Aro said, as most of us sat down on our thrones again.

We looked around and saw an ornate door near us. Confused, we stood near the thrones. "GO!" Aro roared. He threw something at us, and Apollo snatched the bundles out of the air as we all twisted out, following the smell of rain.

"Sweet," Apollo said. "This has got to be about eighty thousand dollars here."

Rosie looked up. "Everyone take ten thousand and regroup here in a few hours."

When we all forged our way back, I had clothes, a hairbrush, a Nintendo DSi, and about a billion games. Connor had about the same thing.

Apollo and Jade came in carrying a laptop, saying they deposited the rest for stuff they may want later. They were sitting on each others' laps on the floor giggling at the computer screen and generally being a sickeningly happy couple.

Rosie was carrying an iPod touch, looking slightly unfocused with earplugs in. Seeing Connor and me, she tapped the screen and looked at us. "I'm listening to my music and seeing the shaped. They have… a fourth dimension now…" she rambled a little bit, tapping the screen again.

Juliet came in with some books, a BlackBerry, a trunk of clothes, and a hairbrush that she was currently using to pull through her hair.

Brian, that little pyro, came in with 9,000 dollars worth of firewood, and a small trunk of necessities- clothes, toothbrush, hairbrush, etc.

Anabel wandered in last, so dreamy I wondered if she knew where she was, lugging a few boxes behind her- one of clothes, one of glass trinkets, and another of clothes.

"So," Anabel said. "W-".

Apollo jumped. "Buttons on your underwear," he interrupted

"Ollie! Shut up!" Jade rebuked him. "This is no time for eleven year old humor! Especially when you are not, in fact eleven! Go on, Anna."

Anabel turned around and looked at all of us. "Oh, that's me. Um, what are we gonna do now?"

I furrowed my brows. "What do you mean?"

She looked at me strangely. "What now? Like, what are we going to do now?"

Rosie took a deep breath. "Apollo and Jade are going to keep flirting over a computer, Juliet will probably go read her books, Brain will blow stuff up, Anna will probably dress herself up and mess with her little glass figurines, you and Connor will probably play games and generally act like siblings, and I will play on my iTouch while listening to music. For the rest of our lives until Aro says otherwise," she said.

We all looked at her.

"What?" she asked. "I used basic psychology and the power of deductive assumptions."

We looked harder.

"Rosie use big brain make smart guess," she said as if speaking to a mental invalid.

"Oh," we all said.

Actually, she was pretty much right, we sat around and did nothing for a few hours. At least, until we got bored. Then, Brian whipped up a fire, and we all curled up comfortably around it as the sun went down. The hall was empty, and the shadows were slightly disturbing. It seemed that the darker it got, the more scarier the place looked.

Connor huddled closer to me. "Where do you think Aro went?"

"He's probably taking care of something important." Apollo assured Connor.

"Besides, were fine in here."

A knock on the door resounded in the cavern, making us all jump up into crouches. I guess it was… instinct?

Jane walked in. Most of us relaxed and stood up, but I stayed in my crouch and so did Rosie. I felt another one of those little sparks come into existance in my mind, and I knew those were peoples' powers. Because I didn't know her power, I didn't want to relax quite yet. Rosie, undecipherable chick she was, stayed crouching with me.

Her lips quirked upward into a smile. "Hello. My name is Jane. I-"

"What's your power?" I interrupted. She turned her ruby gaze to me, smile leaving her face.

"Do you really want to know?" she asked innocently. I nodded. Eyes blazing with some unknown fire, she locked eyes with Connor. A sadistic smirk lit her features.

Suddenly my baby brother was on the ground, screaming and wailing and carrying on. Jane's gaze was still locked with his, though he had collapsed and crawled toward me. Her face fell again, and Connor stood.

I opened my mouth. "Okay then," I said.

She smirked at me, not in a I-kill-you-with-my-evil-power kind of way, but a ha-I-win-you-little-demon kind of way.

"Anyway, I was sent by Aro to bring you to his throne room," she said, turning from me. We all collected our stuff and trekked after her to the throne room.

On the way there, we passed a small clock. I looked at its hands and realized that in one second, it would be exactly seven o'clock at night. Fascinated in a way that only a ten-year-old could be, I stopped of a second to watch the minute hand strike twelve. The moment it did, a weird feeling, not painful but not pleasant, shot through me, and I fell to the ground.

**My extraordinarily good reason for not updating: I sent a draft of this chapter to my beta, who you should all know by now on Sunday the thirteenth or Saturday the twelfth. On Tuesday the fifteenth, I was like, oh crap and IMed her. Yeah, she wanted this to come before chapter 4s action. So I didn't even pretend that I could update that week. So screw that! I'm updating today. The reason we couldn't have worked this whole thing out earlier? Hannukah, my tech week *phew*, a gigantic school project, and normal laziness.**

**My second non-update- Fate got me out of my ditch *love you!* and I kept writing. However, my grandparents were in town! I see them for about 6 weeks a year. You're lucky I even updated THIS week.**

**I love you guys! Merry Christmas! *If any of you celebrate Kwanzaa, I'd love to know when that is so I can wish you the best!***


	4. Chapter 4

**I left you with a cliffy... so enjoy!**

I woke up with my head in an ice-cold, rock-hard lap. My heart racing, I sat up, rubbing sleep out of my eyes.

Wait a sec. If I'm a vampire, shouldn't I not be able to sleep? Or have a heartbeat? Or realize that other vampires have cold, hard skin?

I stood up, looking down at my body. I had my normal skin back again. I pulled my hair to in front of my eyes. Normal- the curls going every which way instead of a neat, Selena Gomez-esque bob. "Um, what the heck just happened?" I asked. My voice was normal again. Not bells, just a normal voice.

Connor said- as I marveled how beautiful he was- "At seven, you collapsed and we saw you turn into a human again- turning back into normal Laurie. And now, about ten minutes later, you're waking up." I nodded.

Jane spoke next. "Aro is going to figure this out. Come on." She grasped my arm too hard and pulled me too fast to the throne room. Everyone else sat down on their chairs, sprawling over them like normal kids.

"Jane, my dear, what is this... creature? And you are short one... newborn." I pulled my head up to face him. Apparently, he couldn't recognize me without my perfect skin and non-potato nose.

"This is the missing newborn. At precisely seven o'clock, it passed out and became human again. Its brother woke it up precisely ten minutes, ten seconds later. It is now human, for an undetermined period of time," Jane said, bowing.

Caius's milky eyes gleamed. "If it's a vampire and looks human, we must figure out if it still has vampiric traits or if it is simply a human."

After a conversation so fast and so low that I was proud I detected it, Caius and Marcus... tested me to figure out what the heck was going on.

I don't like to think about it.

They concluded that I was a human on the exterior, but inside I was still a vampire. That means that I'm stuck being pretty much completely human for some amount of time, when I'll become a vampire again. Why did I get the crappy gift?

Caius yanked me down into a dungeon- a real, freaking dungeon- and put a clock in it. I heard the lock click before I heard footsteps race down the hall.

I dozed, bored as heck, staring at the clock. I fell asleep at like, 9:30, and woke up around six. I always fell asleep early, and woke early too. I looked at the clock some more. At the strike of seven in the morning, the feeling came again.

But it was different this time. The anti-whatever feeling that same and turned me into a human. That was both pain and pleasant, but this was neither, and this absence of anything pulled me unconscious again.

I woke as I heard the clock announce 7:10 to me. Looking down, I saw my new me again- Selena Gomez hair, pale skin, the whole nine yards. I busted the door and followed a scent to the throne room.

Bursting open the doors, I announced, "Aro? I'm a vampire again!" I was happy and skipping a little bit.

Everyone was silent, and everyone was the other seven kids, Aro, Jane, and this massive guy guarding the door. He was doing a crappy job, I just walked right in.

Aro's eyes got that demonic gleam that honestly scared me to death. "Ah! Jane, it has turned into a vampire again. My child, when did you become a vampire?"

"Seven. Same as when I went human again." I said, twirling a strand of my hair around my fingers.

"I was telling stories to your... friends. About a nasty, trouble-making coven of vampires called the Cullens," Aro said. As he said the name of the coven, a low hiss went around the room, from Connor to the guard to Jane. "They have been going against us- nay, the law, with their crimes. However, they come up with an alibi every time that gathers too much support to justly oppose. I was hoping one of you would annihilate them for me," Aro explained, half to me and half to the other seven of us.

Connor's fair brows furrowed. "What's annilate mean?"

Rosie smiled and mussed his hair the way I used to. "Ann-i-ill-ate means to destroy. Kill," she explained.

"Oh," said Connor, his mouth making a perfectly round circle.

Aro looked at me, some unknown fire burning in his eyes. "I was hoping you could, but you are too weak. Human for half of your existence. Who else would like to go?" he asked, turning toward Rosie.

"I can do it. Being weak, I can play up their sympathy or have them underestimate me or something." I said, probably way too fast.

Turning toward me again, Aro smiled. "You would do that for me?" he asked.

Without really knowing why, I knew my answer. "Absolutely."

He smiled coldly. "I want to go in and gather information. Ties, weaknesses, anything. Make sure you get in proximity to everyone but the wolf, the blond and her mate, and the leader and his mate. They are all gifted. Come in and out without letting them know who you are," Aro said.

I smiled. "I can do this. Who doesn't love a perfect, innocent-looking ten year old?"

**The plot thickens! Our little main character, going off to annihilate the Cullens. I'm 90 percent sure that most of you hate her now. Don't be so sure...**

**I know this is late. I justified it on my profile. Readers who don't go to my profile- GO! I post a lot of stuff about this fic- reasons it's late,** **updates, complaints, everything!**

**Merry Kwanzaa, and a Happy New Year! Love you all, bekeyboo.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Enjoy, my pretties! Italics are flashbacks.**

I was walking, human pace, up a road to a big foofy house. It was a mansion, all glass windows and white paint. I remembered what brought me here.

_Aro had told me the route to find the Cullens. He told me of a sweet, almost human scent that would mean I had found the right coven. I was brought to an abandoned port and was told to swim. I thought he was either kidding (unlikely) or insane (less likely). He was serious. Because I didn't need to breathe, and had superhuman strength and endurance, I could swim to America faster than any boat._

_I swam for a day, sometimes shooting forward like a bullet, and other times drifting on a powerful current heading the way I wanted to go. I found out a delicious fact- sharks tasted almost as good as humans. I hit America in Florida, and I remembered Aro telling me that the Cullens were staying in Philadelphia. I walked slowly, taking care to stay as far in the shadows as I could. I knew that nighttime running was no option. I forged my way into a forest, where I could run properly._

_Running was relaxing, as my muscles pumped and salt bits fell out of my hair and clothes. By dawn, I was well into Philadelphia, and had caught the scent that Aro described. When I was thinking about it, it smelled just like me... and just like a human. There was enough of the 'me' scent to keep me from going headfirst into my blood-lust. Finally, I traced it to its source- a large house in northern Philadelphia._

I had just waken up from the change that swept me into being a vampire again. I was able to get here in one full vampire day of solid running, and fix myself up at night.

I smirked while pulling my hair back into a ponytail with a tie I always had around my wrist. I looked at my torn clothes and practiced my 'pity me!' expression. They would have no idea what hit them.

I walked up to their front door and knocked on it. A smiling golden-haired, golden-eyed man opened the door. "Hey!" I said. "My name is Lauren." I said. I looked inside my mind and felt a bunch of those little sparks come into existence. I didn't want to stamp them out, so I shoved them out of my mind. Now, whatever vampires that had powers in this motley crew wouldn't affect me. I smiled.

The blond looked at me with an eyebrow raised. This I had expected, of course, because it wasn't everyday that a random ten-year-old vampire shows up at your doorstep. "Hello. My name is Carlisle. Come in," he said, pulling me into his home.

There was a horde of people sitting in his living room- four pairs and one loner. Carlisle walked, human pace, over to the lone woman and sat beside her, kissing her on the head.

I immediately looked for the pair that looked like the leader and his or her mate. The youngest male, who had shimmering bronze hair, looked like the leader. His mate leaned on him, resting her head on his lap. The others were obviously pawns, underlings. The leader and his mate were sprawled on a couch, while most of the others sat on the floor, excepting Carlisle and Esme. They must be the second-in-command.

Now, I knew from what Aro had told me that to introduce myself as a helpless little girl, I had to act the part. I took care to look around wide-eyed at all of the "big" rooms and say stuff like "ooh..." and "cool" when I saw something mildly interesting. Sure enough, Carlisle introduced me to everyone, and I stayed wide-eyed and innocent.

I also figured that to act the part I had to act like a child and skip all formalities. Therefore, when Carlisle was done introducing the coven, I introduced myself. "Hello, my name is Lauren and I was wondering if I could join your coven," I said while looking up at them through my eyelashes. I'm not sure why I said that, because Aro had actually told me that I need to be in and out of that coven quickly, but I kinda figured it didn't make a difference. I guess that I could get closer to them if they believed I was one of them. Then, I could pretend it wasn't working out and ditch them. Good plan, Laurie, good plan.

The leader's mate stood. "Of course, Lauren. Now, I'm Bella, this is Edward," she gestured to the leader, "Jasper and Alice," she pointed to a blond male and a dark-haired female sprawled near a window, "Rosalie and Emmett," a blonde woman and a heavily muscled male, "And you know Carlisle, and this is his mate Esme," Bella finished, pointing to the woman next to Carlisle. "Now, how did you find out about us?" Bella asked, curious.

I panicked a little bit on the inside. "The vampire who changed me told me about a powerful coven full of gold-eyed vampires living in Forks. I tracked your scent from there to here," I said after pulling on Rosie's faint spark. It gave me just enough knowledge to provide this back story.

Esme smiled warmly. "Oh, who changed you?"

I pretended to frown. "I didn't catch his name. I actually heard him tell his coven about you while I was changing." Yeah, that's plausible.

They all looked at me curiously. The leader, Edward, spoke up. "So, we should probably get to school." Assorted 'oh, crap!'s and 'we're gonna be late!'s rang through the kids. In a few moments, they were all gone and racing their cars down a highway.

Carlisle left the room and quickly came back with a briefcase. "I should get to work. You'll be okay?" he asked Esme tenderly.

"I'll be fine," she said, kissing him on the cheek. "Love you."

"Love you too, Esme," Carlisle said, leaving. A few minutes later I saw his car go down the driveway and disappear.

Esme regarded me with a mother's eye. "Let's clean you up and get some decent clothes on you." She pulled me up the most awesome staircase I had ever seen. It was a spiral staircase, with wide steps that were very close together. It wound around a central pole, so it looked like those Chinese Staircase bracelets I made when I was seven and the far ends of the steps hung out into space.

She pulled me into a master bathroom and left the room as I undressed and started up a bath. She came back in once I was firmly beneath a thick layer of bubbles, holding some clothes. She showed me the shampoo and watched as I washed my hair to make sure I did it properly. She reminded me a little tiny bit of Aro, what with the acceptance and trust without even knowing me. However, Aro creeped me out, but Esme didn't.

Esme left again as I drained the tub, drying myself off and putting on the clothes she brought. "What is this nonsense?" I asked. I was in a yellow tank-top sundress, with the outline of turquoise flowers. It even had a little sissy cardigan.

Esme's eyes flashed a little bit. "Where are your manners?" Esme asked.

I had to play the role well. "Sorry," I said with faked sincerity. "I don't like dresses."

She smiled. "Much better. I can grab something else."

She came back with some normal clothes- jeans and a t-shirt. They were both a little big on me, which I would have commented on, but I was pretending to be someone that wasn't me, so I didn't. Esme noticed, though, and said, "I took them from Alice's closet. She's closest to you in size." I smiled.

I kind of felt like I was waisting my time. Aro told me to come back as quickly as possible. I wanted to know them properly, though, so I would know emotional weaknesses that that one guard could pick on. And, I absorbed Esme's power- I touched her. She's not Bella, Edward, Rosalie, or Emmett, so she must have a power.

**This chapter was tough, but I made it through! Again, go to my profile for the whole story!! I just have logorrhea in A/Ns, so I merely moved it to my profile from now on.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Review. **

After dressing myself properly in clothes that didn't want to make me gag, I walked back out to be critiqued by Esme's mom-eye.

She walked around me, looking at the fit of the clothes. "Decent. Let's go shopping for some clothes that actually fit you," she said, taking my wrist and pulling me after her. My brows furrowed.

"Why?" I asked. Esme's eyes burned a hole in my shirt. "Fine. Why are we shopping for clothes that actually fit me, mother dearest?" I asked, laying on a healthy, thick layer of sarcasm.

Esme smiled. "Don't you want clothes that fit? Or would you rather stroll around in oversized designer clothes for the rest of eternity?" Esme asked, laughing slightly. "Come on, the kids will be home around 2:30." I followed her, searching in my mind for her power. I found the same sparks as I had this morning. I guess touching people doesn't make their spark stand out.

I followed Esme into a fancy-looking car. It was the kind you see in the Volturi's garage, the kind Demitri laughs about. Now the kind you see sprinting down the dreary highways of the middle of nowhere.

We arrived at the dismal mall, and Esme pulled me in and out of stores and dressing rooms. I found some stuff that I actually liked- not the Volturi capes, not a dress, not the 'normal' clothes I had to wear to blend in. They were more awesome than that. I tried on practically every piece of clothing in that mall before Esme decided that I had had enough of that and took me home.

She had me model everything, smiling and fixing the way stuff fit on me. As much as I hated to admit it, that part of the day was fun. Eventually, a door opened and slammed as the teenagers came home.

I gave myself a mental pep talk. Until now, it's all been fun and games. Here's where the real work comes in.

The blonde male- Jasper- and his little mate- Alice- had completely ditched their stuff in the corner, and were curled up like cats in a sunbeam under a lamp. Wait, how do I know how cats curl up in sunbeams? Whatever. Irrelevant.

They were _purring_, calling each other pet names and saying other lovey dovey shenanigans. _Strong bond Alice and Jasper, _I noted to myself. Moving past them and their sickening romancey stuff, I turned my gaze to the blonde female- Rosalie- and the bulky male- Emmett. Emmett was sitting, making fun of Edward. Rosalie was standing, comfortably screaming at Bella. I wasn't paying close attention, but after one particularly sharp insult, Edward jumped in front of Bella, snarling and baring his teeth. Emmett defended his wife, and Esme came over to break it up.

This was gold. _Rosalie and Bella- antagonistic. Strong pair bonds here. Esme's peacemaker. If we took her out, we could probably eliminate these pairs just by letting them decimate each other._ Satisfied, I looked for Jacob and Renesmee. I agreed with Aro- there really is no way to describe that pair. Renesmee was yelling at Rosalie, Emmett, Bella, and Edward after Esme left to fix Jacob something to eat. However, he came in to pull Renesmee back by the waist, telling her that yelling wouldn't make her favorite aunt and her mother like each other.

Okay. _Renesmee- the baby. Weak point- everyone loves her. If we manage to get her hostage, we could probably lure Rosalie and Bella straight into a trap, _I noted as Bella grabbed her daughter and steered her away from Rosalie.

I became aware of Edward staring at me. I looked right back. "What?" I asked.

His eyes widened. "Nothing, just.... nothing," he said.

I scoffed. "You sure? You don't sound sure."

He looked at me warily. "Nothing."

I shrugged. He wasn't worth my time. Aro said not to concern myself with the leader. Whatever.

Alice and Jasper had jumped up. Now that was a nest of talent just waiting to be absorbed. "Hey, Lauren!" the female said brightly.

I forced a smile. "Hey. Alice and Jasper, right?" I asked, hating the role of naive child.

Jasper smiled like the Mona Lisa. Aro has the original, you know. "Yeah."

Alice silenced him with a glare. He smiled and pulled her into a hug. Playfully, she shoved him away. "Anyway, Esme took you shopping! Yay! Show me what you got!" I smiled, this time real. I was fully prepared to take advantage of this.

I grasped her hand and pulled her up that awesome staircase. Esme had turned the attic into a room for me, and I didn't mind. I liked it. It was out of the way, and, more importantly, it fit in on the way normal vampires were supposed to live. Away from the sickeningly bright walls, open windows, and glass walls. I felt a spark momentarily shove its way into my head. Angrily, I shoved it out again. I bantered with a false cheeriness to Alice. Ugh. I have the worst job, ever.

**Edward's POV**

It wasn't like she didn't exist. Not like my Bella. I heard her for a second, an onslaught of stress and worry. Oddly, her mind spontaneously turned to almost static. She definitely still had thoughts, but it was of poorest quality, like trying to read a piece of paper through a wall of thick glass. It was there, I just couldn't see it anymore.

_Edward? EDWARD! EDWAAARD! _Alice shrieked in her mind after we got home from school, from upstairs. I smiled. I tapped my foot against the floor, once. That meant yes in our simple sign language.

_Finally. Edward, she has no future. _Alice thought. I prepared to grab a piece of paper and write Jasper's name.

_No, Jasper doesn't have a read on her either... I wonder what that means. Is she like Bella? _Alice questioned. I tapped my foot twice. No.

I heard Alice politely excuse herself from her conversation with Lauren. Somehow, I got the vibe that she was completely unlike my Bella. My Bella's thoughts were a blank slate. Lauren's were merely very foggy and indistinguishable excepting the tenor. She was bored. Fun.

Alice instantaneously appeared in front of me. _Edward, I am so confused. Explain._

I opened my mouth to explain. _Awesome. That's kind of how her future is. Jazz can't read her emotions at all, but that's like him. All or nothing._

I don't even want to know. "Alice-" I was cut off by her thoughts. _We should pretend like nothing is weird. Check._

"How-" _Do I do that? I scan your future only seconds from the moment, seeing what you're going to say. _

Dang. She's good. _Anyways, Edward. Um, I know that she's going to get suspicious soon. I have to go. _Alice thought before traipsing away off of that awful staircase. One day, Bella will trip and fall and break her neck, and Esme is going to get it.

**Lauren's POV **

When will Alice be back up here? I need to touch Jasper! And, of course, Carlisle and Renesmee, but he is my current target. I will not fail.

**A bit shorter, but 1200 words isn't shabby.**


	7. Chapter 7

forever ten chapter 7

**I'm on time. **

Alice strutted back up the stairs with Jasper in tow. She smiled at the stuff I was wearing, but her mind was obviously somewhere else. "Great, great. Anyway, Jazz and I are going to go do... homework... See ya later!" Alice said and ran back downstairs and straight outside.

Weird, but I don't judge.

Anyways, whatever the crap they're doing is irrelevant. I need to check back to Volterra. I made sure that all of my little weird mind-spark-doodads were locked nice and tight out of my head, and started thinking harder. _Connor. Coooonorrrrr. Connor! Connor Connor Connor... la de da de da.... I feel dumb...._

_What the crap, Laurie?_

_Connor! Finally! What's the status back home?_

_Gee, no 'How are you, Connor? How have you been?' I feel the love, Laurie._

_Okay, Connor. How are you? Now, back to something important. What is the status back home._

_I'm very good, how are you? _I growled at him in our little mind-conversation. _Everything is fine, Laurie. No one is dead or anything._

_Good. Do you need and update on what's going on here? _

_Naw- _

_Yes. Yes you do. I already got Alice and Esme's powers-_

_WHAT?!?!? Esme has no powers!_

_But she's not the leader, his mate-_

_Yes, she is. She's the leader's mate, butthead!_

_What the crap?!?!?! Isn't Edward the leader?!?!?!_

_NO! Why would HE be the leader? He's a kid!_

_I don't know!!!! He seemed to be in like... the center of the room or whatever...._

_Laurie, whatever. Just make sure you get everyone's powers! _Connor abruptly cut off our little argument. I growled in annoyance. How is Carlisle the leader? It didn't make any sense.

I sat there a little while, pulling on Rosie in my mind to formulate some kind of plan. What if... no.... but if... no that would fail.... hugs. If I hugged and pulled on everyone, people would just think I'm friendly! Happy with myself, I looked at the funky clock on the wall.

Aw, crap.

I was awake just long enough to hear the bells chime seven before I passed out for my human transformation.

**Esme's POV**

I heard a faint thud from upstairs, partially disguised by the chiming of Carlisle's grandfather clock. I was concerned for a minute, but then remembered that everyone in my home was a vampire, so I began to worry about the state of my house. Did someone break a wall? No matter, we'd solved _that_ problem before.

Then I heard it- a faint thrumming of a human heart. I raced upstairs, toward the beat.

What I saw was shocking. Lauren, our newest family member, was laying across the floor, definitively human.

I raced to her body, and pulled her head into my lap. "Wake up, wake up, Lauren, please..." I murmured to her body for about seven minutes, until she moved.

"Mmmm... what happened...?" Lauren said. "WHOA when did you get here?" she screeched. Her voice was no longer bells, her cheeks were flushed red, and her eyes were a beautiful shade of blue. Her hair was frizzy, but still a warm brown and gold. Her skin was less pale and freckled. "Stop staring at me."

I smiled. "Hello, Lauren. I'm with you, what happened?" I asked.

Lauren's eyes widened momentarily. "Um... this is kind of my power... I become human from 7 o'clock p.m. to 7 o'clock a.m." She shifted her weight sheepishly.

I hid my shock and, to be honest, betrayal well. "Well then. Come on, let's get you something to eat."

**Laurie POV**

Okay, she didn't freak. That's always a good sign. And she's really nice too- Aro and Jane never cared if I was hungry as a human (I always am, by the way).

So I followed Esme downstairs, where she pulled out random foods- and apple, some turkey, cheese slices, grapes, and stuff like that. "Sorry, this is all we have at short notice. Props, if you will, but they're all still good," Esme said, whipping a plate of food together with vampire speed.

My weak human mind and sight was seizing on random details compared to my vampire mind. I was marveling at her beauty that I never really noticed before, being surrounded by beautiful people and being beautiful myself. She was so graceful and quick, more things that just screamed, "Vampire!"

Starving, I tore into the food. I didn't know and didn't care how this was going to leave my body, but my human stomach was demanding food. Not thirst, food.

After I had finished choking myself with food, I tried to mind-speak with Connor.

I couldn't find him.

Frantic, I searched my mind for any spark- Anabel, Juliet, Rosie, Jade and Apollo, Connor, and even Brian when it got down to it.

Relax, Laurie... it's because they're.... far away. Yeah, look for Jasper and all them.

Nothing.

Crap. I must be totally and completely human with a vampire smell. Well this just sucks.

Swallowing my horror, I dumped my dishes in the dishwasher- why the crap did vampires have one of those?- and ran back upstairs. Just because I couldn't _use_ the powers of other vampires, I could still absorb them, right? Who knows. Anyway, I raced off to subject Jasper to Operation Overly Friendly.

"Jasper!" I yelled when I found him.

"Lauren," he replied with ten times less enthusiasm. I grabbed his hand while saying something trite about a game of tag.

Jasper was gently trying to pry my hand off, but I kept prattling on about how much I loved the game and how much I needed eveyone to play.

He gave up once I picked up Emmett, who was ridiculously overenthusiastic.

That was where everything went right. I was able to grab the hands of everyone with a power and pull them outside for tag.

Genius!

Jasper was it first, and he decided to target me. Revenge. Anyway, he caught me- duh- and swung me around. He's a pretty cool dude. So anyway, then Emmett let me catch him, and so on and so forth for about an hour. Then I was about ready to pass out, I was so tired.

I raced back upstairs to find a bed and sleep.

Easier said than done.

I ended up on this beanbag chair in Allie- Alice's room. Don't get attached, Laurie! Pull yourself together! These vampires are on Aro's death list.

But why am I even following him?

Away from the doom and gloom of the castle, I had almost forgotten why I even listened to him in the first place... wait a second... have I been hoodwinked? My world slid and jiggled like jello. Am I doing the right thing? What if Carlisle is right and Aro is wrong? What if...

No. Aro is my master. He is right. I am on a mission.

With the world righted back into its proper place once more, I settled down to sleep.

**1,302 words. This was the most natural way to stop.**


	8. Chapter 8

I'm back! Thank you, faithful readers, for keeping me on your radar.

I woke up as a vampire- the clock read 7:10. Ah. Now, what awesome powers did I absorb last night? I looked for the sparks in my mind. They were there, shining like stars, as always. I reached out to grab one. It disappeared and reappeared as soon as my mind tried to pull on it.

So I can't absorb powers as a human.

Well this sucks. All that positive energy wasted for nothing. Okay then. Plan B. Keep this a renaissance mission. Time to pull an escape and report my findings to Aro, directly, not through Connor.

I raced downstairs to set my plan in action. As I bounded down the stairs, reveling, again, in my awesome power, I ran straight into what felt like a hug from a solid wall. I peered up and found Emmett giving me a bear hug. "Awesome, Emmett. Let go." I said, fighting a little. I didn't dare fight with full strength inside an enclosed area. He took his arms from around me and ruffled my hair.

"So Miracle Child is a vamp again. Cool!" Emmet announced to the entire house. I opened my mouth, thought better of it, and went with a nod.

Weird, though. I might miss them. Esme seems so motherly, and Carlisle, so compassionate... I suppose, as a favor, I may convince Aro to let them live. Just them. The rest of the coven will die.

Well, maybe not Emmett. He's too... what's the word? Innocent. Life is a total game. It wouldn't be fair. I guess... maybe... I'll try to convince Aro to keep him, too. He would be a wonderful alliance to have, and he would love Felix. I smiled. Yeah, Emmett is going to live.

So I guess I'll have to keep Rosalie too. She could hang with Heidi- bring in the meals. Bait. Yeah, Aro would love to add her to the guard. She'll be fine, and then Emmett will get to keep his girlfriend. So all four of them live.

But Alice and Jasper need to be okay, too. Aro said. The blonde male, his mate, the family of three, and the wolf, are all to be members of the guard. Ick. Well, we can't have everything in life.

But other than that, we are bringing that coven down!

I wove some lie, told them that all the people made me jumpy or something, and bolted. I headed straight for Volterra.

This journey, however, I lollygagged a bit. Instead of cutting through the ocean, then pausing to go human speed for awhile, I would race, then stop when I found a pretty spot. This time, I found pretty reefs, caves, and even a cool shipwreck with sharks swimming all around it.

They taste really good. Almost but not quite as good as humans. And the cool thing? Once you get one to bleed into the water, the rest of them plus seven more that were wandering nearby come racing over. By the time I had eaten all of those sharks, the ocean was scary quiet and empty. I also felt sloshy, but stronger.

Hm. Isn't this how the Cullens live? Peaceful, harmless to everything but the animals that they prey on? Why does Aro want them dead? Well, dead-er than they already are.

My eyebrows furrowed as I digested this. Wait, I almost went down this road last night. Aro wants them dead. So they are dead..

But he's relying on me to finish this... I have the power here, not Aro.

But Aro is my master. He controls me.

What if he doesn't? Why am I even serving that creeper, anyway? Wow, dunce Laurie. Just help the Cullens! You can, you can super spy on the Volturis and give the Cullens the inside info instead! I smiled underwater.

Anyway, now that I have that all sorted out, I thought, let's get this show on the road!

I swam, full speed, back to Volterra. Time to get my sneak on.

The second I hopped out of the surf, I was met with two guards, Felix and Chelsea. Why Chelsea? I thought. Oh no...

I dived into the secluded section of my mind that was reserved for the little sparks that meant power. There shouldn't be any... oh no... I thought, immediately blocking myself, shutting the spark out of my mind.

I have absolutely no idea what her power is.

Smiling widely, I hugged Felix and Chelsea in a big group hug. "I missed you guys," I said with faked relief in my voice.

Win. I looked at the spark closer, now. I felt a rush, then opened my eyes that I didn't really notice I had closed.

There was a strong... line between them, attached to both of their chests. I was under the impression that I was keeping it there. Sly dog! Chelsea could bond people together! I looked down. I saw a faint line trying to attach itself to my chest. Ha. I win this round, Chelsea.

I pretended to be totally under her power, though. I smiled obediently and put on the awful black cape that they all wore. I was short, still am, so I trip all over it. I hate that we have to cover up our faces and... ugh. Just don't get me started.

Anyway, so I put the cape on and was led through the shadows of the horribly sunny day to the castle. It's short, sweet, and getting me back on track.


End file.
